Champions Round - Real Newark (44 points; gw25) - SECOND STRIKE - ELIMINATED Summary: *[No Strikes (5) = Morning Glory, Virgil Reality, Lokomotiv Lewisham, Tangers FC, Parraraiders] *[1 Strike (2) = Keysersoze Wanderers (gw20), Sasha Juniors (gw21)] *[Eliminated (2) = Bigger Boat (gw22/gw23), Real Newark (gw24/gw25)] Wow! This one is a rough one. For the second time in a row, we see a team pick up consecutive strikes to exit. And, this one definitely lands in the category of bum luck stories. If they got the top-secret, special report on Tuesday morning, Real Newark was probably confident, if not overconfident, about surviving for another week in the DE-Cup. Coach Bob knew that they were currently 4th from the bottom with 40 points. Tangers was on 20, Lokomotiv was on 27, and Morning Glory on 39. Moreover, BE-Cup winner Virgil Reality was only 1 point ahead at 41, and VR had no players left and only 4 points to come from auto-sub. So, even if Tangers, Lokomotiv, and Morning Glory put up needed numbers, Real Newark only needed 5 or 6 points (depending on how the captaincy coin-flip might land) to be safely in the safety zone. And, 5 or 6 points would have seemed a foregone conclusion with 4 players including a captain to play in the week's final game. Tangers and Lokomotiv both had Dallas as captain, so they both jumped easily to safety with him grabbing a goal, clean sheet, and bonus points, while Morning Glory got a much needed clean sheet from Ayling as well as a dribble of points from auto-sub and McCarthy. But, even then, Real Newark still only needed the 5 or 6 points from today's game. Unfortunately, the four players wasn't enough and it broke down as follows: --Captain Ings, who had played 84 minutes for 2 points in the earlier game, only saw 32 minutes of playing time. It was his 1st time in 7 games not to play at least 60. His score for today's game after doubling = 2. --Minamino, who had scored a goal in his 75 minutes for 9 points in the earlier game, likewise only got 32 minutes of playing time. It was the 1st time in 4 games with Southampton that he didn't play at least 60. Hard to complain about his score for the week, but for today = 1 --Harrison had played 80 minutes for 2 points in the earlier game. Surely, he'd get at least 60 minutes, right? Nope. For only the 2nd time in the last 13 minutes, he wouldn't get 60, managing just 45 for the going tally today of = 1. --Vestergaard actually was the only one of the 4 to play the full 90, but conceding 3 and picking up a yellow card, meant 0. Four players. 199 minutes total (avg = 49.75). No goals, assists, bonus points, or bonuses for clean sheets. 1 yellow card, and -1 for goals conceded. Total points, including doubling of captain, equals 4. Virgil Reality (45) had two auto-subs for 2 points each, and even without an autosub for the last player who didn't play, it was just enough.
Champions Round - Keysersoze (62* points; gw26) - SECOND STRIKE - ELIMINATED Summary: *[No Strikes (5) = Morning Glory, Virgil Reality, Lokomotiv Lewisham, Tangers FC, Parraraiders] *[1 Strike (1) = Sasha Juniors (gw21)] *[Eliminated (3) = Bigger Boat (gw22/gw23), Real Newark (gw24/gw25), Keysersoze Wanderers (gw20/gw26)] We are, again, in the world of tough beats. This is Champions Round, and this was the second highest scoring week of the season with the All-Rocks average coming in at over 75 per team, so it is no surprise that all of the scores were in the 60s and above. Looking at the scoreboard, it was Tangers at 66, Keysersoze at 68, and then the Sand trio of Parraraiders, Virgil Reality, and Lokomotiv at 74, 75, and 78. Morning Glory and Sasha Juniors were even higher. BUT, then we dug a little deeper than just a quick glance at the scoreboard. As posted elsewhere, Keysersoze made a late move before the deadline to bring in Maja (FUL) and Veltman (BHA), which unfortunately was an illegal grab of Maja, who is already own in VSR by FC Epikoinis. Keysersoze's 68 included 4 from Maja and 2 from Veltman, the removal of which puts Keysersoze below Tangers. Adding an extra kick in the midsection, while Keysersoze had prudently been trying to move out two injured players who did not play in GW26, had Keysersoze not made the illegal and just kept the injured players, autosub would have then pushed in the last player on his bench -- WHU's Lingard -- and his 5 points would have put Keysersoze safely at 67, one point ahead of Tangers... Instead, it's second strike and Keysersoze is out. So, Epikoinis plays the spoiler for owning Maja, I'm the bad guy for enforcing the rules, and Tangers praises the benefits of VAR.... Or something like that... Onward to GW27.
As Tarv noted in the Golden Boot thread, gw29 has a shortage of games. As I think it's only at 4, that will be an dark week for the DE-Cup. No elimination. No carry forward of points. Or anything else. I'll look later to see how it impacts the schedule after, but I think we just push everything back a week without a problem. It's possible we don't need all the weeks if someone wins without getting a first strike, and there were two weeks set aside for the Super Eliminator and that can be reduced to one, and, of course, with Virgil Reality still alive in the DE-Cup, it's possible that we won't even need the SE-Cup anyway!!! Onward....
With 1 games to play on Wednesday (the second game of the week for MCI and SOU), the GW27 scores are: Virgil Reality - 46 + 2 + Gundogan(c) + Walker Lokomotiv --- 47 + Jesus(c) + Mahrez + Bednarek + (McCarthy OR 6+Forster if McCarthy DNP) Tangers ------ 49 + Jesus(c) +Ward-Prose + (B.Silva or 1 if Silva DNP) Parraraiders - 50 + 5 Sasha Juniors - 51 + 2 + Gundogan(c) + Mahrez + Walker Morning Glory - 74 + 5 + 1 + Foden + (McCarthy OR 2 if McCarthy DNP) Parraraiders is done and looks to be at 55 after autosub. With it being so close and everyone else having multiple players and many captains, 55 seems in reach, but it is the second game of the week and things could turn if there is rotation.
Champions Round - Parraraiders (55 points; gw27) - FIRST STRIKE Summary: *[No Strikes (4) = Morning Glory, Virgil Reality, Lokomotiv Lewisham, Tangers FC] *[1 Strike (2) = Sasha Juniors (gw21), Parraraiders (gw27)] *[Eliminated (3) = Bigger Boat (gw22/gw23), Real Newark (gw24/gw25), Keysersoze Wanderers (gw20/gw26)] With Gundogan and Mahrez firing, Parraraiders last hope was Tangers, who landed on 58, and needed the last boost from Ward-Prowse, who came through with a very healthy 18 points in the double gameweek with a goal in each game. Parraraiders benefited from Martial's 5 points coming in via autosub, but the tipping point in the final result was the decision to captain Mount over Bruno, with Mount getting only 24 minutes while Bruno converted a PK in the opening minutes. Mal will certainly defend the decision by pointing to Mount's strong run of form and a run of 7 straight starts coming into the game, but even with a MCI-MUN derby, fans were shouting that you always have to captain your #1. Fortunately, it's DE-Cup and this was just a first strike, but there is no longer any room for error. It was a fairly high scoring week again overall with the league average just above 57, so a strike at 55 isn't kind, but perhaps not too harsh in the world of Champions League if you don't make the league average. Reminder that GW28 kicks off on Friday, so not a lot of time to set lineups, and then we'll take off GW29 before resuming the race for the finish line. Continued good luck to all of the remaining teams.
Just checking in on the dumpster fire of GW 28. I see I am not the only one with a Pep rotation and a roster depth issue. Looks like I survive this one.
Of the six teams still in the comp, you're currently tied for top score with two others at 29, without digging into vice captains and autosubs. Pretty sure you and everyone else whose initials are not "Virgil Reality" are safe this week. And, safe/not-safe is used in DE-Cup terms, as this will only be a first strike, so not the end of the road. Full write up to come once the GW is over -- presumably just a blip on what has otherwise been a pretty outstanding season, but what happened this weekend to VR was about as brutal as I can recall.
Champions Round - Virgil Reality (8 points; gw28) - FIRST STRIKE Summary: *[No Strikes (3) = Morning Glory, Lokomotiv Lewisham, Tangers FC] *[1 Strike (3) = Sasha Juniors (gw21), Parraraiders (gw27), Virgil Reality (gw28)] *[Eliminated (3) = Bigger Boat (gw22/gw23), Real Newark (gw24/gw25), Keysersoze Wanderers (gw20/gw26)] It was an especially and epically brutal GW for BE-Cup champ Virgil Reality. 8 points total. Scanning the season scores, I spotted a 15 and an 11, but this was the first this season in single digits. Anyone recall a lower score in the past? Digging into the numbers. High scorer was his GK with 3. He got 1 point doubled to 2 from Son as his VC. And 2 from Pereira and 1 from James. Dawson played but scored an own goal and ended on 0, and then another 6 and all 3 bench players did not play. As noted above, VR has been having a great season, and hopefully Gundogan rotation won't become regular occurrence down the stretch, but Son leaving early while clutching his hammy and a number of yellow and orange triangles could be cause for concern as the Sand promotion battle kicks into high gear. For now, the double in the Eliminators remains a possibility, but with one strke down, there is no room for error. After the strike last GW, Parraraiders finished second from the bottom, but even with a score of only 30, there was plenty of cushion. This time. Reminder that we skip gw29. Rest up and get your injured guys healthy.
Champions Round - Sasha Juniors (27 points; gw30) - SECOND STRIKE - ELIMINATED Summary: *[No Strikes (3) = Morning Glory, Lokomotiv Lewisham, Tangers FC] *[1 Strike (2) = Parraraiders (gw27), Virgil Reality (gw28)] *[Eliminated (4) = Bigger Boat (gw22/gw23), Real Newark (gw24/gw25), Keysersoze Wanderers (gw20/gw26), Sasha Juniors (gw21/GW30)] It was a spectacular battle for the low score between a couple of this season's top teams. Lingard's 12 points end up being enough to push Virgil Reality to safety with 31 points, while Sasha Juniors still sleeps comfortably with a massive lead at the top of the table but can't be happy to have seen another chance at Cup hardware slip away. Tarv ended the GW with 27, with only two players scoring more than 3 points. And, needing 5 points to have made it to safety, perhaps the most frustrating trio of scores were the 0, 0, and 0 in the center of the defense recorded by Mendy and James for Chelsea against WBA and Dawson against WOL. 270 minutes from the three players and nothing to show for it has to sting, particularly with the double up on Chelsea looking so good on paper heading into the weekend. Rounding out the scores, it was: Tangers - 46 Parraraiders - 46 Morning Glory - 48 Lokomotiv - 61
Champions Round - Parraraiders (36 points; gw31) - SECOND STRIKE - ELIMINATED Summary: *[No Strikes (3) = Morning Glory, Lokomotiv Lewisham, Tangers FC] *[1 Strike (1) = Virgil Reality (gw28)] *[Eliminated (5) = Bigger Boat (gw22/gw23), Real Newark (gw24/gw25), Keysersoze Wanderers (gw20/gw26), Sasha Juniors (gw21/gw30), Parraraiders (gw27/gw31)] With Cresswell putting up scores of 2, 0, and 1 in the last 3 gameweeks, I'm curious to hear Parraraiders' thinking for leaving the captain's armband on him for the 4th week in a row. Mind you, it ended up not being close at all and a different captain wouldn't have mattered, but inquiring minds are still looking for answers. In any event, this is strike #2 and Parraraiders' run is over. Tangers was in the mix until autosub kicked in, with Dallas' 17 points coming off the bench to land comfortably at 52. All of the other scores were safely in the 50s.... Lokomotiv - 50 Tangers - 52 Morning Glory - 57 Virgil Reality - 58
As we head to the final match of the week, things look grim for Virgil Reality. VR is currently on 46, and looks to have 1 point coming via autosub, and still has Pereira to play. But Tangers is next at 59 with a player to play and Lokomotiv is at 60 with a player to play and Morning Glory after comfortably in the clubhouse at 65. Pereira (who hasn't scored more than 6 yet this season) is going to need a massive haul such as clean sheet, goal, and max bonus points, for VR to make this interesting. Long shot perhaps, but also why they play the games.....
Champions Round - Virgil Reality (44 points; gw32) - SECOND STRIKE - ELIMINATED Summary: *[No Strikes (3) = Morning Glory, Lokomotiv Lewisham, Tangers FC] *[1 Strike (0) = __] *[Eliminated (6) = Bigger Boat (gw22/gw23), Real Newark (gw24/gw25), Keysersoze Wanderers (gw20/gw26), Sasha Juniors (gw21/gw30), Parraraiders (gw27/gw31), Virgil Reality (gw28/gw32)] There was no last game magic and it did not end up close, even with Leicester getting the clean sheet. With that, our 2020-21 BE-Cup champion Virgil Reality exits. There will be no sweep, although this was a very impressive run. VR will have a few weeks to rest up for the finale in the Super-Eliminator Cup. We are down to 3 teams -- one from each division -- and none of them have a first strike yet. And, if this week's scores are any indication, they all mean business! Final GW32 scores: Virgil Reality --- 44 Tangers --------- 61 Lokomotiv ------ 63 Morning Glory - 65
Facing a week of podium finishers at this stage of the season. Unfortunate but it happens, look forward to the super eliminator in the future
Champions Round - Morning Glory (28 points; gw33) - FIRST STRIKE Summary: *[No Strikes (2) = Lokomotiv Lewisham, Tangers FC] *[1 Strike (1) = Morning Glory (gw33)] *[Eliminated (6) = Bigger Boat (gw22/gw23), Real Newark (gw24/gw25), Keysersoze Wanderers (gw20/gw26), Sasha Juniors (gw21/gw30), Parraraiders (gw27/gw31), Virgil Reality (gw28/gw32)] How quickly things can change! Last week, our three DE-Cup finalists were grouped at the top of the leaderboard. This week, their all grouped at the bottom. Morning Glory made a last ditch effort to have a seat when the music stopped, with 5 autosub points coming in for an unexpected Leeds clean sheet, but it was still 2 points shy of what was needed--2 points lost with the Leno own goal! Meanwhile, while the rest of the bench didn't play, Morning Glory saw backup GK Pope's 6 points stranded on the bench while Leno played and scored 0, a strike-dispositive decision with the benefit of hindsight. Meanwhile, while Morning Glory played 11 after the autosub, Lokomotiv fielded only 9 players with the G33 making this a risky week. Coleman and Dallas were the only players to have more than 3 points, but there were no 1s or 0s, and it was just enough. G33 Final Scores: Morning Glory ------ 28 (First Strike) Lokomotiv ----------- 30 Tangers -------------- 32 Reset for next week.... It's looking to be a great finish. Winner gets the DE-Cup, and a chance for the SE-Cup in the finale against Virgil Reality.
Champions Round - Morning Glory (20 points; gw34) - SECOND STRIKE - ELIMINATED Summary: *[No Strikes (2) = Lokomotiv Lewisham, Tangers FC] *[1 Strike (0) = __] *[Eliminated (7) = Bigger Boat (gw22/gw23), Real Newark (gw24/gw25), Keysersoze Wanderers (gw20/gw26), Sasha Juniors (gw21/gw30), Parraraiders (gw27/gw31), Virgil Reality (gw28/gw32), Morning Glory (gw33/gw34)] GW34 final scores: Morning Glory - 20 (Eliminated) Lokomotiv ------ 24 Tangers --------- 42 It is end of the road for Morning Glory, the third DE-Cup competitor to get two strikes in consecutive weeks. Morning Glory ended up fielding only 10 players, with two from MUN seeing their game canceled and Foden ending up on the wrong side of Pep-rotation. Captain Kane ended with a disappointing 2-doubled to 4, but was a wash on this one in terms of DE-Cup impact, as Kane was owned and captained by Lokomotiv as well. Speaking of Lokomotiv, only 9 were fielded due to the game cancellation and rotation and other absences, and it came down to the final game, with Coufal and an assist an some bonus points adding 7 points rather than a standard 2 for an ordinary appearance, and being the difference. Tangers sat comfortably and it is now a two-team showdown, two out of three since neither have strikes yet. FYI, if all three weeks are needed, then the Super Eliminator will be a one-GW showdown in GW38. BUT, should Lokomotiv or Tangers wrap up the DE-Cup title in GW36 by sweeping the next two weeks, then the SE-Cup will return to a two-GW format on GW37 and GW38, with points added together from both weeks.
It is early in the GW of GW1 of the best of three, and is looking to be a good one. These are awesome scores with loads of games still to play: Tangers 44 Lokomotiv 53 Both have Mane, but Lokomotiv captained him. Tangers courageously gave the armband to Sigurdsson, and still has both games of the double to come. Tangers will be very pleased with the defensive effort so far, with 10 and 6 from Allison and Robertson, while also grabbing 7 and 8 from Azpilicueta and Alonso (with the Chelsea duo getting their points on the attacking end). All four still have a second game to come. Unfortunately, Dallas' goal sits on the bench, with dwindling options remaining for autosub to bring those on. Tangers' players have 10 more games to play, PLUS two games for the captain, so let's call it 14 games total. Lokomotiv also has Dallas' points on the bench, but the savvy manager Tom wasn't messing around and played his bench boost, so those points are already include and are the current difference. Including the bench, there are 14 more games to play, PLUS one game for the captain, for 16 games total. Those games include two for the orange-triangled Grealish, so time will tell if he's ready to return to the pitch or if those will end up as DNP blanks. With all the games left to play for both teams, and with healthy points for both teams already posted, this is shaping up to be a massive tally for the team that will get their first strike! Also, digging deep into the rule book, a reminder since it could be in play that I added an asterisk to the tiebreakers in post 30 in the BE-Cup thread, which applies here too -- chip points (such as bench boost) count, but if you're playing a chip, you've got to win outright, as the removal of the chip points will be the asterisk tie-breaker that is first on the list. So, Tangers owns the tiebreaker for this GW, IF it ends in a tie..... Good luck, and regardless of how it ends up, this is only the first strike on the line and we'll be lining up to do it again next week (and maybe even once more after that)....
Champions Round - Tangers (69 points; gw35) - FIRST STRIKE Summary: *[No Strikes (1) = Lokomotiv Lewisham] *[1 Strike (1) = Tangers FC (gw35)] *[Eliminated (7) = Bigger Boat (gw22/gw23), Real Newark (gw24/gw25), Keysersoze Wanderers (gw20/gw26), Sasha Juniors (gw21/gw30), Parraraiders (gw27/gw31), Virgil Reality (gw28/gw32), Morning Glory (gw33/gw34)] GW34 final scores: Tangers --------- 69 (first strike) Lokomotiv ------ 101 Lokomotiv got 12 points from the Bench Boost, but didn't need them. If played for the DE-Cup, it could have been saved. Tangers was stuck with Dallas' 9 points on the bench, but it didn't matter. 69 is the new high mark for a strike, surpassing the 62 from Keysersoze in GW26. A final 2 showdown worthy of champions. They turn around and do it again for GW36. Tangers is now on the brink of elimination. Can Tangers force another game? Can Lokomotiv wrap it up this GW and avoid the rubber game? Does anyone have any other chips to play (and, if so, do you do it now, or save it...)? Good luck to both!
Your 2020-21 DE-Cup Champion is Lokomotiv Lewisham!!!!! Champions Round - Tangers (37 points; gw36) - SECOND STRIKE - ELIMINATED Summary: *[No Strikes (1) = Lokomotiv Lewisham] *[1 Strike (0) = __] *[Eliminated (8) = Bigger Boat (gw22/gw23), Real Newark (gw24/gw25), Keysersoze Wanderers (gw20/gw26), Sasha Juniors (gw21/gw30), Parraraiders (gw27/gw31), Virgil Reality (gw28/gw32), Morning Glory (gw33/gw34), Tangers FC (gw35/gw36)] GW34 final scores: Tangers --------- 37 (eliminated) Lokomotiv ------ 48 Even with the Allison goal, which frankly should be worth many than 6 fantasy points, Tangers came up just a little short this week. Fielding only 8 players, with a couple of rotation benchings and several players not having a game this week, it was a valiant effort, and the squad will be left wondering if filling those 3 spots could have meant the 11 points needed to push this into another game. AND Congratulations to Lokomotiv!!!! LL came second in Sand Division DE-Cup round, and then ran the table, winning the DE-Cup champion's league round without a strike. Lokomotiv now advances immediately to the SE-Cup for a two-round, cumulative points showdown with the 2020-21 BE-Cup champion, Virgil Reality. SE-Cup updates will continue in this thread. Reminder to both teams that GW37 has an early start on Tuesday, so get your lineups in. If you have chips, you can still play them and those points count for SE-Cup purposes, but will still be subject to tie-breakers rules should that come into play. Likewise, while the point hits will still punish you for extra transfers in your league standings, they don't count for eliminator purposes, so you've both got leeway there as well, should you be so inclined. Last thing on the tiebreakers, should that come into play, if there is a tie of the cumulative scores, the tie-breakers will likewise be added from both GWs as applicable, i.e., we'll add your captain score from gw37 and your captain score from gw38, even if you have different captains each week. Good luck to both. Again, it's gw37 + gw38, winner take all.
It's time for the Super-Eliminator Cup! A showdown of #2 v #3 in Sand, with the eliminator bonus that there are no duplicate players since the teams are in the same division. All chips have already been played, so that won't be part of the equation. DE-Cup Champ - Lokomotiv Forster (LEE) Robertson (BUR) -- Dallas (SOU) -- Coufal (WBA) -- Coleman (WOL) Grealish (TOT) -- Mane (*V*) (BUR) -- Mahrez (BHA) Benteke (ARS) -- Jesus (BHA) -- Kane (*C*) (AVL) Subs - Areola (MUN) -- Holding (CRY) -- Tielemans (CHE) -- Ceballos (CRY) BE-Cup Champ - Virgil Reality Martinez (TOT) Veltman (MCI) -- Walker (BHA) -- Webster (MCI) Son (*V*) (AVL) -- Pogba (FUL) -- Lingard (*C*) (WBA) -- Trossard (MCI) -- MPereira (WHU) McGoldrick (NEW) -- Firmino (BUR) Subs - Leno (CRY) -- Cavani (FUL) -- Castagne (CHE) -- RPereira (CHE) I waited until the GW37 lineups were live, but apparently that wasn't necessary as it doesn't look like either team made lineup moves from last week. A little surprising with the two teams also locked in a battle for promotion. Perhaps the Tuesday deadline snuck up on them.... Virgil Reality sounded like he had just woken up when the SE-Cup press room called him for a comment about playing a double BHA defense against MCI. He pointed out that it wasn't what it appeared since Veltman is red flagged anyway. ?!?! Lokomotiv was awake, but racing out the door to get to the stadium for the first kick off. "We understand this is a two game series, but we still go one game at time and I'm confident that this 11 can get the job done. We've worked hard to get here, and we'll take Kane vs Lingard any day when it comes to double points." Definitely sounds like fighting words, and bulletin board material. GW37 is just round 1. Good luck to both!
We've got ourselves a great SE-Cup finale underway. For GW37: Lokomotiv ----- 55 Virgil Reality -- 54 Lokomotiv was led by Robertson with 15, got 6s from Coleman, Mane, and Benteke, and 5s from Dallas and Mahrez. It was a disappointing 2 points (doubled to 4) from Captain Kane. Virgil Reality got 7 points (doubled to 14) from Captain Lingard, 9 from Trossard, 8 from Firmino, 7 from M.Pereira, and 6 from Webster, but frustratingly had 9 from Cavani stuck on the bench in position 1, which was skipped over for defenders by autosub due to the formation rules. Both managers issued a joint statement that they took offense at the suggestion in yesterday's post that their squads were not prepared and ready for such a prestigious competition...... It's basically even, and they'll turn around now and get ready to do it again in GW38. PS -- DE-Cup side note, it was a woulda, coulda, shoulda situation for Tangers, coming up with what appears to be a GW37 silver-medal-worthy 66 in what would have been the DE-Cup final had they been able to flip the scores in one of the past two weeks. Aaah, so close.
It's GW38 and second leg of the two-week SE-Cup showdown, with Lokomotiv holding a 1-point lead.... DE-Cup Champ - Lokomotiv Areola (NEW) Robertson (CRY) -- Dallas (WBA) -- Coufal (SOU) -- Holding (BHA) Grealish (CHE) -- Mane (*C*) (CRY) -- Mahrez (EVE) Benteke (LIV) -- Jesus (EVE) -- Kane (*V*) (LEI) Subs - Forster (WHU) -- Tielemans (TOT) -- Ceballos (BHA) -- Coleman (WOL) GW38 update -- Doesn't look like any transfers were made, but the armband has been shifted to Mane, Areola starts and would have come on anyway with Forster on the bench, and Holding is in for the red-flagged Coleman. Benteke was yellow-flagged, and it appears he is out, so Tielemans is on for him. BE-Cup Champ - Virgil Reality Leno (BHA) Tarkowski (SHU) -- Castagne (TOT) -- Bailly (WOL) Son (*C*) (LEI) -- Pogba (WOL) -- Lingard (SOU) -- Trossard (ARS) -- MPereira (LEE) Cavani (WOL) -- Firmino (CRY) Subs - Martinez (CHE) -- Webster (ARS) -- Walker (EVE) -- McGoldrick (BUR) Tarkowski and Bailly were brought in for Veltman and RPereira during the week and both go straight into the starting 11, with Castagne taking Walker's spot this week for a complete shake up of the back line. Keeper change here as well with Leno on, so it's a whole new defense for VR. Cavani also flips spots with McGoldrick. Oh, and the captain today is Son. Early team news isn't as great for VR, with Pogba, Cavani, and MPereira appearing to be out from what I'm seeing. But, all 3 of VR's bench are playing, so it looks like it will be a full 11, even if not the desired full 11. Side note, in addition to needing to make up the 1-point in the SE-Cup race, VR is 39 points behind in the promotion race and looking for a miraculous double swoop today..... Kickoff in 30 minutes.
At halftime, and including the one autosub for Lokomotiv and the three autosubs for Virgil Reality, Lokomotiv has a 35 to 19 lead today, to add to the slim margin from gw37. Still 45 to play...
There was no comeback in this one, and no messing around as Lokomotiv struck early, and often. Full details to follow.
GW38 DE-Cup Champ - Lokomotiv 85 points - including 1 autosub Areola (0) Robertson (8) -- Dallas (2) -- Coufal (10) -- Holding (7) Grealish (2) -- Mane (*C*) (32) -- Mahrez (6) Benteke (x) -- Jesus (6) -- Kane (*V*) (10) Subs - Forster (x) -- Tielemans (2-AS) -- Ceballos (x) -- Coleman (x) BE-Cup Champ - Virgil Reality 46 points - including 3 autosubs Leno (7) Tarkowski (2) -- Castagne (0) -- Bailly (2) Son (*C*) (10) -- Pogba (x) -- Lingard (3) -- Trossard (1) -- MPereira (x) Cavani (x) -- Firmino (5) Subs - Martinez (3) -- Webster (1-AS) -- Walker (6-AS) -- McGoldrick (9-AS) Trophy presentation to follow